Former LTD Addict Speaks Out About FOMO (Today Only! Don’t Miss Out!)

Are lifetime deals smart buys, or a compulsive wallet-draining lottery?

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From 2018–2021 my most visited website wasn’t any of the social media offerings — it was Appsumo.

Have a startup SaaS you need funding for? Appsumo is your platform. Want to get in on the ground floor and get lifetime access to the next big thing, with no monthly fees? Lifetime deals might just be the bargain of the century. You get all the good feels of supporting an underdog, in exchange for access to their product at no further cost — while they’re still in business, that is.

At the end of 2021 I found myself with 34 lifetime deals (LTDs) in my toolkit, and a distinct lack of satisfaction with most of my purchases.

How many of these tools am I using on a regular basis today, you might be wondering? Six! Though there’s another handful that I’m happy to have because it’s likely I’ll use them in the near future.

I know I’m not alone in this FOMO-driven compulsive buying. There’s a lack of measured, joined-up thinking going on here that needs to be examined.

What are we afraid of missing out ON?

Fear of missing out is seen by some as a relatively new phenomenon, but I think it’s existed as long as marketing has been a thing — and that’s been a very long time. Act Now To Feel Good and above all, Avoid Disappointment, is the universal message behind FOMO-fuelled decisions.

FOMO-laden appeals… can strengthen purchase intentions by boosting consumers’ anticipated elation and self-enhancement or weaken purchase intentions by boosting anticipated expense regret. — From a study by Good and Hyman, October 2020

I remember the sense of discovery that came from browsing sites like Appsumo for new tools. How exciting to get in on the ground floor and score lifetime access to an app that might just go mainstream!

It’s pretty cool to know I was an initial supporter of the highly capable Plutio (affiliate link), which is now a well established SaaS with a price tag that represents the value their impressive product brings to small businesses. FYI, I’ve used Plutio extensively in the past, when I was doing freelance work. My current work doesn’t require collaborative project management, proposals, repeat subscriptions, and all the rest of the services they provide, but I know where to go when freelance work comes my way.

StoryChief is another company in that category whose product I’m proud to have access to. Current pricing starts at over $220—per month.

But that’s only two, out of thirty four. A few successes is all it took to have me hooked.

Instead of addressing what was out of balance with my business and my psyche, I was on the mouse wheel of a never ending search for the silver bullet that would fix it for me. Tool after tool went into my cart, and hours upon hours disappeared as I focused on the work about the work, instead of on the work that really needed to be done.

Why don’t you just, you know… stop?

Seeing some of the tools I passed up become big quite quickly (example: Cloudapp) sent my FOMO into overdrive! How could I just stop, when the next tool could be The One??

Here are the thoughts and motivations that kept me entering the LTD FOMO lottery:

• All those enthusiastic reviewers can’t be wrong

• This tool might be the one that makes me rich!

• Get it now and try it out; you can always get a refund in within 60 days (always a clever marketing ploy, that)

• Even if it doesn’t work out, at least I’ve helped a small company get started

• If this does work out, all the money I’ve wasted on those other tools will come back to me in the monthly fees I don’t have to pay

• I don’t know what I’ll need in the future, so just get it now and put it away; it will be a resource for the future — possibly just the one I need

• Dopamine hit!

Our work-from-home business was at a critical turning point, and it felt like I had to do something to get things moving again. I fell for the marketing so many times, believing (again) that a new tool would take me by the hand and solve the issues we were facing.

And so I’d shell out yet another $49, or $79, and then eagerly distract myself with a new toy for the rest of the day.

The main motivator for collecting so many tools was a 90:10 mixture of FOMO and greed. I think. I haven’t gone full meta on this, other than to recognise that it wasn’t a healthy place to be.

Does it count that I wasn’t the worst offender? At the time I felt like it did. I’d see people in the comment section of some tools writing with glassy-eyed, desperate optimism about how they trusted that this tool would change their lives and their livelihood. I could see they were in a sad place, but it took a while to recognise I was suffering from much the same affliction.

Say, this is sounding remarkably like people who hop from one productivity app to another, isn’t it! Unsurprisingly, I’ve been there, too — focusing on the tools rather than on the work the tools are supposed to help with.

Hang on, are you saying it’s always bad to buy LTDs?

There’s nothing inherently wrong with buying a new tool, or with LTDs. The tools aren’t the problem. If I had the cash to spend, I’d gladly buy an LTD for every startup that caught my eye. The difference? I’d be treating it as a donation with no expectations — not as a desperate attempt to get something for nothing, before it’s too late.

Abundance versus scarcity: there’s a world of difference between these two approaches. I’ve tasted the fruit from the scarcity tree, and it leaves a nasty aftertaste once the initial sugar rush wears off. Never again. Abundance, however, is the right kind of sweet, all the way through.

Somehow I managed to grow out of my LTD obsession. The key was an intentional focus on and a taking of responsibility for the core issues at hand, rather than sitting back, wallet in hand, trusting that a tool could solve my problems.

I’m happy to report the sun is warmer and the sky a very pleasant shade of blue here on the other side of that hamster wheel.

Conclusion, and links to the rest of the (very valuable) story

If FOMO has you in its grasp, it’s time to turn the table and take control.

• Focus on the work that matters, and keep things as simple as possible.

• Get counselling if you need it. Not sure if you need it? If you can’t control your spending, you do.

• Find a mentor in your field and pay attention to the honest and raw story behind how they got to where they are today.

Here are the 6 lifetime deals I don’t regret buying:

I Was Crazy Enough to Buy 34 Appsumo Lifetime Deals—Here are the Six I Actually Use
Recognise that lifetime deals can be a mixed bag, and you’ll be okaymiscellaneplans.medium.com

Check out the vital lessons I learned from some negative experiences (and one horrible one) with SaaS companies selling lifetime deals:

5 Vital Business Lessons From Lifetime Deals Gone Wrong
This former LTD addict has some pearls of wisdom you don’t want to miss (irony intended)miscellaneplans.medium.com

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